Consumer Rip-Off

[roadking77]

Had a longtime customer contact me this morning regarding a 'plumbing leak'. She knows I am not a plumber but thought that I could help her anyway. She had no water pressure in the downstairs powderoom sink. Called a plumber that she got from Home A. they went to the crawl space, said the water lines were leaking, floor joist had been cut in half and was collapsing, and repairs would be needed right away. They quoted her $1200. to fix everything. It was more than she wanted to spend, that's when she called me. I was there for about 2 minutes before I fixed the problem. Sediment in the faucet screen! I went into the crawl space for good measure, no leaks (in fact it was surprisingly dry considering this is a wet area and we had a lot of rain yesterday), and the floor joist had been notched many years ago when the drain was installed. Not a good practice but it was still solid with no problems.

[Nexus]

So many stories like this. It's probably my cynicism from working in a Jail but it seems like it's hard to find good honest people that do good honest work. I know this isn't the case and we tend to hear about all the negative stuff and seemingly hear less about the jobs well done (this site excluded).

It makes me angry to hear stuff like this and that some people are so disrespectful towards others, or try to take advantage of those who don't know.

Glad she took the time to get your opinion!!

[FormTA]

I know. I have farmed out work before and it just kills me. Half the time I could have done a better job, quicker.  I just can't believe people do jobs so poorly,  doesn't anyone have pride in their work anymore, regardless of who it's for?

[roadking77]

The company she called the first time is very large, I think they have about 100 trucks on the road. They have a rep. for doing business in this manner. The mechanics get a commission on what they sell to the customer so they always over inflate things. I have heard stories about them telling customers that they need a new furnace when all it needs is a new nozzle, stuff like that. I guess its a pretty good business model for making lots of money, but I dont operate that way. I treat my customers the way I would want to be treated, honest and fair.

[76455sd]

I hate to here stories like that.  Some people have no morals.  She’s lucky to know a guy like you.

[FormTA]

My brother in law owns a apliance store and they do repairs too. I call him when I have an apliance issue as I know he will know what's wrong quicker than I would. One time when I called him about an ice maker issue he said the valves are bad and he would order them for me (I get them at cost that way and these item have a huge mark up). Anyway I narrowed it down to one valve stuck/clogged and I took it apart and cleaned it and got it working.  When I told him that he said. "You work differently then I/we do. We replace the bad part, we don't fix it". That got me thinking there are two types of repairs folks out there, those who only know how to replace parts and those who understand how the part works and why it is not and can then fix said part.

[Jack]

It's unfortunate but some people's business motto is "if you are stupid enough not to know what the issue is I will rob you blind." Often it's the elderly that can't pay anyways... I'm glad that people like you still exist.